Runescape: The Battle of Lumbridge
by Oryxace
Summary: With Guthix dead, and no one left to keep the gods out of Gielinor, a war begins, and a pivotal moment in history and the life of Oryxace starts; It would later become known as the Battle of Lumbridge.
1. Part 1

Part 1:

At the end of the last god wars Guthix awoke and banished the gods from Gielinor, for the next 2 millennia Guthix slept, knowing Gielinor was in balance. However peace cannot last, the resting place of Guthix was discovered by a naïve archaeologist seeking to save his career. He was followed by the Mahjarrat Sliske, and when Guthix awoke, Sliske killed him, destroying the balance, and the edicts he had put in place to maintain it.

With the edicts gone, and Gielinor open to the gods once more, they returned to reaffirm their power, and battle for the power Guthix left behind. I stood at the top of castle Lumbridge, when the first of Guthix' power leached into this plane of existence, a hole emitting a harsh green light appeared just outside of Lumbridge, within view of the castle. The first god to siphon energy out of it was Zamorak, in an attempt to stop him, Saradomin forced him into a stalemate. The followers of both gods became locked in a bitter battle for the energy leaching from the hole in reality, the initial clash destroyed half of castle Lumbridge. When I reached the ground the fighting had already begun, soldiers trying to defend Lumbridge clashed with Zamorakian zealots.

In the following dayss warriors from all over Gielinor arrived and began fighting, the battle quickly expanded to encompass all of Lumbridge, it would become known as the battle of Lumbridge.

I stood atop the castle of Lumbridge looking out at the clear sky, it had been a few weeks since the death of Guthix, and things seemed peaceful. Then the sky seemed to become clouded all of a sudden, the clouds were different, they had a greenish hue to them. I turned around to see a plume of green smoke rising into the sky, then a wave of energy struck me, the walls of the castle were blown apart. I felt my feet leave the ground, then I hit the water of the river Lum, if it wasn't for the eye Saradomin gave me centuries earlier I wouldn't have survived being thrown from the roof of the castle. I rose from the water, my Rune armour was heavy with water, as I stood it began draining out, I stepped out of the water to witness a flurry of activity, the Lumbridge guard was moving toward the source of the blast.

I followed them, as I climbed over the rumble of the west wall of the castle of Lumbridge I saw the crater, and two gods locked in a brutal battle. The crater was larger than Lumbridge, if it had happened any closer to Lumbridge it would've destroyed it all. I made my way to the crater, as I reached its edge I saw forces dressed in the colours of Zamorak and Saradomin locked in brutal combat.

"Interesting isn't it?" A voice said from behind me.  
"It's another brutal war that's going to claim many lives." I answer.  
"Come on Ory, It's not that bad, not like the wars we fought anyway."  
"It seems that I'm the only one of us who's developed empathy over the years, Doom." I say turning around to face the figure dressed in black dragon leather.  
"We've lived for more than 700 years, at least learn to enjoy the wars you're fighting." Doom says drawing his twin blood red sabers.  
"I assume that you're going to support Saradomin." I ask, stretching my arms out and yawning.  
"I believed in balance, but with Guthix gone, a lot of people are going to support Saradomin, so I think I'm going to support Zamorak this time." Doom answers.  
"Then I suppose we're enemies then."  
"I'll try to go easy on you, I won't use Bandos' arm." He says holding up his right arm.  
"Then I won't have to use this." I say, activating my right eye.  
"Sounds fun." He says jumping into the fray of the battle.  
"I suppose that's Doom for you." I mutter under my breath.

I decide to take my time and get a drink before wading into the fray of the battle, I walk to the furthest bar from the fight. I enter it only to find a dagger at my throat, the bartender was cut and bloody, he had a determined look in his eye.

"Ralph, I'm not here to fight." I say holding up my hands.  
"Several Zamorakians passed through here not that long ago, they looked like ordinary people, forgive me for being suspicious." He replies, lowering his dagger.  
"I'll have a beer, and a shot of scotch." I say walking into the establishment and sitting down on one of the barstools.  
"I thought you'd be the first to jump to arms in a situation like this, Ory." Ralph says pouring my beer.  
"I'm taking a break today, it's my day off."  
"Here's your beer, scotch is coming right up." He says placing the beer in front of me.  
"Thanks."

The door to the bar opens, a heavily armoured foot steps into the bar, I ignore it and continue drinking my beer. The person enters the bar then sits next to me, his armour is almost more scratched and worn than mine. He removes his helmet, his hair is stark white, as is his beard, I glance over to get a better look at him, his cape is blue and white, adorned with a scale and a shield.

"I'll have a Dwarven Stout if you have it." He says in a gentle, commanding voice.  
"Interesting cape you got there, you a member of one of those, 'neo-age' clans?" I ask setting my beer down.  
"I suppose you could say that." The man answers setting his hammer down next to his stool.  
"Which one?"  
"Before I answer, may I ask your name?" He says turning his head to look at me, I notice that he's missing his left eye.  
"Oryxace."  
"I am Aethenous, leader of The Loyal Elite." He answers, "And you wouldn't happen be the Oryxace that wields the eye of Saradomin, would you?"  
"Are you associated with the Relic hunters?" I say, taking a sip of my scotch.  
"I wouldn't think so."  
"Well it doesn't matter… yes I am THE Oryxace, I have lived for seven hundred fifty something years, and yes I do wield the eye of Saradomin."  
"Interesting." He says drinking some beer.  
"Come to fight me?"  
"Violence is never the answer." Aethenous answers placing his drink down.  
"Then recruitment, it wouldn't be the first time–"  
"I came to enjoy a drink, not recruit living legends." He says smiling a gentle smile.

I spend the next few moments in silent thought, to my experience, one did not ask who I was unless they were looking to fight me. _This 'Aethenous' seems to possess great wisdom_, I think to myself as I finish my drinks, _I should observe him for a while, might give me some answers to myself._

"Does your clan have any openings?" I ask.  
"We always have room for a new recruit." He answers finishing off his own drink.  
"Where is your clan's citadel?"  
"You can use this talisman to get to it." He hands me a small blue and white amulet.  
"And this will take me to your citadel?" I say looking at the small object in my hand.  
"It will, if you are true of intention to join us." Aethenous replies standing and preparing to leave.  
"Is your clan going to fight for the gods?" I ask as he opens to door to leave.  
"Perhaps, we value balance."

I sit for a moment staring at the amulet for a while, _must have a 'true of spirit' charm on it_, I think as I put it on. The second after I put it on, the world seems to liquefy, then suddenly my lungs fill with water. The weight of my rune armour pulls me to the bottom of the small pool I've evidently become emersed in. I push off from the bottom of the pool, and emerge to the surface gasping for air, my armour begins to pull me down again, but I manage to get out of the pool before it can. I notice a figure standing over the pool, he's dressed in a black robe, and has the same cape as Aethenous was wearing.

"Welcome comrade, I am Pergaminos, I greet recruits and help them out of the pool if necessary." The person answers, extending a hand.  
"I don't need any help." I say harsher than I meant.  
"Perhaps you would like to complete the proper paperwork to officially become one of the Loyal Elite." Pergaminos says gesturing the a large building just off in the distance.  
"I suppose that might be good." I reply, "But first, why did I teleport into a pool of water?"  
"Think of it as a trial, if your intention to join wavered too much you would've been teleported back to where you put on the amulet."  
"Seems counterproductive, even the most dedicated person would rethink their decision if they joined only to almost drown on their first trip to the clan citadel." I comment taking off my armour and letting the water drain out of it.  
"Well it's worked out well so far, though most people float to the surface immediately, your armour must've weighed you down a lot."  
"It does not matter, I'm even more intrigued with your clan than before."  
"That's good, come we will complete that paperwork now."

It doesn't take long to get to the large building obviously serving as The Loyal Elite's main stronghold on their giant floating plateau. The outside of the building makes it look like a castle fortress, the inside is like a gentlemen's parlor, dark oak paneling and suits of armour lining the hallways. Pictures hung on the walls depicting great victories, and former clan leaders, I decide to take a closer look at some of them, as they looked oddly familiar.

"This is the battle of The Wilderness volcano." I say, remembering the battle vividly, my original clan The Reapers had fought at that battle, the final battle against the followers of Zamorak.  
"The battle of the Wilderness volcano was the first battle that we have recorded in our clan's history, we believe that the Loyal Elite may have fought at earlier battles but we have no record of them." Pergaminos says looking at the painting.  
"Do you know anything about the origins of you clan?" I ask, genuinely intrigued as to why I'd never heard of them.  
"Unfortunately we do not, it has been lost to history."  
"Would you like to know?"  
"Perhaps you should take this up with the clan historian." Pergaminos says, obviously unhappy about my questions, "This way to the main administrative chamber."

Pergaminos leads me to a chamber at the top of the building, it has a domed ceiling, with glass panes allowing natural light in. Opposite the door there is a large desk, made of marble, and on it lay stack after stack of paper, sitting behind the desk, was Aethenous. He was calmly writing with a quill, he seemed to be lost in thought, as though he were writing something that would determine the fate of the world. His old face looked up for a moment to notice that we had entered, then promptly went back to whatever it was he was doing. After a long moment, Pergaminos broke the silence,

"Aethenous, we have a new recruit."  
"I know, I can see him." He answers continuing to write.  
"I thought you were in Lumbridge." I say surprised.  
"I was, I decided that the battle was not worth my time, and came back here to work on my book. Can I do anything for you?"  
"Pergaminos here says I need to fill out some paperwork." I say gesturing to Pergaminos behind me.  
"Well then I guess you came to the right place, I have lots of paperwork here, choose a pile and we could be done by sunset a week from now." Aethenous replies, gesturing to a chair in front of the desk.  
"That's not what I think he meant." I reply, becoming rather irritated with the man behind the desk.  
"I'll leave you two alone for a while." Pergaminos says walking out of the door, and closing it behind him.  
"Do I even need to fill out any paperwork?"  
"Well that depends, do you want to?" Aethenous says putting the page he'd been writing on into a pile next to his work space.  
"Then why am I here?" I say angrily, gesturing around the room.  
"Oryxace, in your seven hundred years have you lost your sense of humour, and patience?" Aethenous says cracking a smile.  
"You irritate me." I say glaring daggers at him.  
"I'm glad you decided to join us, Oryxace, you'll find clan uniforms in that closet over there, please take one, you are required to wear it while in the clan Citadel's main building, a form of respect to the many who have come before."

I go to the closet, and remove a uniform my size, it's a black robe similar to the one worn by Pergaminos, except it doesn't have stars at the bottom of the cape, and the area for the rank remains empty. I take off the armour I'm wearing and stow in the usual pocket dimension, then I use my magic to switch my clothes for the uniform. It's surprisingly comfortable, I stretched a little while wearing it to get a feel for the fabric, the uniform was crafted from high quality materials.

"I assume that my rank is recruit."  
"A safe assumption, but will you be able to follow orders?" Aethenous says, standing from his desk, and walking towards me with his hands behind him.

I took a moment before answering, it had been centuries since I had held a rank less than general.

"Should be a refreshing experience." I answer.  
"Good, good." Aethenous responds, smiling, "Has Pergaminos explained any of the clan's history to you?"  
"He told me a little about the clan's participation at the battle of the Wilderness volcano, but couldn't answer questions about your clan's origins." I reply.  
"That is not surprising, usually only the leader of the clan may know the true history, you however, are an exception, considering that you've probably had experiences with our clan before."  
"I remember fighting with 3 other clans at the battle of the Wilderness volcano, but the emblems of your clan were not present at that battle."  
"Our clan's name and purpose were different back then, needless to say you would not have recognized us even a year after that battle." Aethenous said, gesturing to the empty air behind himself, "The battle of the Wilderness volcano was a pivotal time in our history, after it our clan underwent a massive reorganization, our leader Sauren of Misthalin realized that participating in violent actions was not the answer to the world's problems, and devoted us to the pursuit of peace, we have lived by his edicts since, maintaining balance in the world."  
"Sauren…" I mutter under my breath, my heart aching with sorrow.  
"Did you know Sauren?" Aethenous asks.  
"I suppose you could say that… That I named by son of centuries past after him." I reply, smiling a fake smile.  
Aethenous looks suspiciously at me, "Well at least he was well known."  
"I suppose, I have a question regarding most recent events, which side will your… our clan be supporting in Lumbridge, it's a pretty even divide right now, Zamorak has sheer brute force, but Saradomin has more support, the Loyal Elite could tip the scales in either sides favour." I say.  
"We support balance, which means we must support both sides." Aethenous replies.  
"Where will I go?"  
"Where you choose to go, unless you want to be put in a squad." Aethenous says looking at a paper from the seemingly endless stacks on his desk.  
"I'll take the squad, might be fun to take orders for once."  
"As you wish, I'll have Pergaminos assign you to a squad supporting Saradomin."  
"Sounds fun."

Day 1 of battle, 1:46 PM

The squad I ended up assigned to shipped out almost immediately, I had the best armour out of all of them, I also didn't seem as frightened as them. Our squad commander was a man by the name of Dog, a young lieutenant he appeared to be new to his command. We arrived at the battle to find a camp set up for the wounded, already there appeared to be massive casualties, the battle was localizing to the crater, which meant Lumbridge was being spared the worst of the damage, for now.

"Alright, our orders are to support a wedge formation to break the enemy line." Dog says looking over a piece of paper, and a map.  
"I volunteer to head the formation." I say, drawing my sword.  
"No can do, commanding officer always takes point."

Slightly angry I mutter 'yes sir', we quickly arrange ourselves into a wedge formation, then follow other squads into the fray. I take up a tank position behind Dog, as we enter the crater I begin to get a sense of it, _I've seen bigger_ I think as we march past a wounded swordsmen. The first arrow hits the guy behind me, goes straight through his eye slit, he drops dead as we tighten our formation. Another arrow bounces off my helmet, I follow the arrows trajectory only to see an angel of shadow, a man dressed in Zamorakian armour, his eyes glowed red as he fired arrows at us. He fired several arrows consecutively, 2 of them hit my, one bounced off my armour the other embedded itself in the gap in my shoulder armour.

"Over there!" I yell pointing with my sword.  
"Hazeel take him out!" Dog yells to our marksman, however before he can notch an arrow 3 arrows appear in his left eye socket.  
"Damn it!" Dog yelled, raising his shield.  
"I can take him out!" I yell, activating the eye of Saradomin.  
"Then do it, I don't want to lose anymore guys!" Dog yells in response.

I quickly target the archer and unleash a thin beam of power, it leaves a hole in the shape of Saradomin's emblem, on his chest, he drops to the ground.

"Good, let's move forward!"  
"What about Hazeel, and the other guy!?" I yell as we begin moving back into formation.  
"A team will be by soon enough, right now we have an objective, support a wedge into enemy territory!"

Reluctantly I let the issue drop and we began moving forward again, the bodies were becoming more frequent, the guy in front of me vomited. Lieutenant Dog seemed hesitant to continue, but grudgingly he put one foot forward after the other. The battle was truly lready becoming a bloody mess, it spiralled out of control, the Lumbridge guards could barely hold a perimeter, let alone fight the Zamorakians. Suddenly Dog stopped, I almost walked into the guy in front of me, looking forward I saw nothing but smoke, then 2 fireballs shot forth from it, one impacted Dog, the other narrowly missed me, I used the eye of Saradomin to quickly clear the smoke only to reveal a single mage, and a beast unlike anything I have ever seen. The beast seemed like a fusion of a greater demon, a titan, and a monster from the youngest child's nightmare, I grabbed Dog and pulled back.

Then I raised my sword in challenge to the mage, the mage launched more fireballs at me, and the beast charged. I easily deflected the fireballs, the beast on the other hand hit me full force, and buried me in the ground. Using the power of the eye of Saradomin I quickly blew a hole in the beast's head through the ground, then dug my way back up. The beast dropped dead, and the mage began backing away, I used a bolt of energy to rip the mage in 2. As I turned to aid my squad, I was met with looks of horror, it looked as though they feared me almost as much as they feared the enemy's god, I turned away from them, and stood between them and the enemy.

"IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO!?" I yelled in the direction of the enemy camp.

A wave of infantry men emerged from the smoke, their swords already dripping blood, it was obvious that they had ripped through Saradomin's wedge. I raised my sword, my squad wearily raised their own and stood in a circle around Lieutenant Dog, a few seconds later the enemy was upon us. I swung my sword and ripped through the armour of a tank, then slammed my shield into a slim swordsman, knocking him down. I planted my foot in his stomach, so hard that his armour cracked and blood splattered my boot, his screams echoed a bit longer in my head than the usual sounds of battle. _Worry about a guilty conscience later_, I told myself, _Right now, it's kill or be killed, so kill to survive kill so your squad survives…i_

I unleashed the power of the eye of Saradomin, using its power I incapacitated the enemy infantry around us. I picked up Lieutenant Dog, and ordered a retreat, no one argued, we made it back to our camp as Aethenous arrived on a horse. He quickly dismounted, and walked past us towards the battlefield as a wave of Zamorakians approached the Saradominist camp. Aethenous raised his hammer and began striking back the Zamorakians as they reached the camp, he seemed very nimble for an old man. The wave of Zamorakians was quickly repelled those that survived fled, a pile of bodies lay in his wake, his body language suggested a great reluctance to kill.

"I guess that's Aeth for you." Pergaminos said walking towards us.  
"So is the entire clan deployed at this point?" I asked.  
"Yes, we're all here now, though our presence isn't going to do much, we evenly split between the 2 sides." Pergaminos answers me while wrapping his hands in bandages.  
"I could easily shift the balance in this fight."  
"Then I suppose it depends on which side you want to win." Pergaminos says walking towards the battlefield with his spear at the ready.

Day 2 of battle, 12:34pm

"Dog we need to shift our position or we're going to get killed!" I yelled at Lieutenant Dog, as I blocked an incoming blast of fire.  
"We have our orders, we're to hold this position until reinforcements arrive!" Dog replies, blocking a volley of icicles.  
"We're not going to survive long enough for those reinforcements to arrive!" I yell, firing a blast from my eye.  
"We'll make it!" Dog yells, "Tighten the formation!"

We respond in kind and tighten up, wave after wave of magical blasts strike us, despite the obvious direness of the situation we hold position. A blast of energy strikes the corporal next to me, he drops to the ground exposing a hole in our formation, before we can react a fireball flies into the hole, striking our wounded. They scream as the fire burns them, there's nothing we can do, but close the hole in our formation, and keep taking the heat of it.

"WE NEED TO PULL BACK!" I scream over the explosions of magical energy around me.  
"WE CAN'T!" Dog screams in reply, "THE ENEMY FIRE IS TOO THICK, WE'D BE RIPPED APART IF WE TRIED TO RETREAT, WE NEED TO HOLD POSITION!"

I do as he says, 20 minutes later, several consecutive blasts of magic rip apart our formation, I grab Dog, knowing that he was the one most likely to survive, and retreated. Using the eye of Saradomin I create a shield around us, and begin running back to our camp, I hear the screams of the wounded from our squad as the Zamorakian mages bear down on them. I enter the camp panting heavily, then drop Dog to the ground, and collapse to knees, my hands on the ground I try to come to grips with being at war again, it had been a long time since I fought one so bloody.

"What happened?!" Yelled one of the Saradominist generals, "Why did you pull back!?"  
"Our formation was ripped apart, we barely made it out of there!" I yell standing to face him.  
"And you gave ground to the Zamorakians! Unacceptable!" The general yells at me, "You are to fight to the last man, and die in service to your god!"  
"I will not die for such a petty reason!" I scream at him, allowing my power to roll off me in anger.

The general shakily backs up, then passes out, _obviously a man who has never seen war_, I think to myself. Aethenous walks up next to me, seeing Dog, he puts a hand on my shoulder,

"How long has it been since you fought a war this bloody, Oryx?" He asks in a calming voice.  
"At least 500 years, there was an incident with the relic hunters, but nothing like this…" I answer feeling tears roll down my face, "So much death…"  
"I respect a man who has not become desensitized to violence even after 700 years." Aethenous says kneeling next to me, to check Dog's vitals.  
"I've developed empathy, I've had to watch my loved ones die as I lived on, 3 times now... I don't want to watch people lose their families in petty wars like this." I say, wiping the tears from my face.  
"Some would say that this war is not petty, and that we must fight in it to restore peace to this world."  
"What do you believe?" I ask, standing and preparing to head back into the fray.  
"I believe that this war is a pivotal moment in the history of Gielinor, this battle decides what people want more, good or evil, The Loyal Elite fights it because of its significance."  
"What if Zamorak wins?" I ask looking back at Aethenous.  
"Then so be it, but the Zamorakians will be no match for the forces of Saradomin once they reach here in a day or two."  
"We shall see." I reply wading back into the fray.

I doubted Aethenous at that moment, but little did I know, he was right, the arrivial of the White Knights on the fourth day of battle marked a change in the virtual stalemate. They brought with them generals with greater strategic experience than the ones that Saradomin had in command. With the use of the White Knights, and better strategy, the battle quickly turned around, however it would still last 5 days after their arrival, because of the arrival of the Black Knights in support of Zamorak.


	2. Part 2

Part 2:

Four days into the battle the White Knights of Asgarnia arrived, and the following day the Black Knights arrived to match them. Aethenous continued to allow the Loyal Elite to remain intimately involved in the battle, it was like witnessing a clan civil war, while simultaneously watching the end of the world. My squad had been destroyed, Lieutenant Dog refused to return to the fight, and Doom cut a swath of blood across the battlefield.

Day 5 of battle, 9:34 am

"I gave you that eye to end battles like this one." Saradomin's image says to me.  
"I swore never to commit genocide again, even if a battle like this were to occur." I answer, a solemn expression on my face.  
"That eye exists for the greater good, not balance, it exists to eradicate evil." Saradomin replies, not hiding the disdain in his voice.  
"The ultimate power must exist for balance, such as I have learned over the centuries."  
"I will win this battle with, or without your help, but Guthix is dead, balance is gone, you have to decide what you want more, good or evil?" Saradomin said, as his image fades.

_What do I want more?_ I think to myself, balance was no longer an option, which would be better, good or evil? I decide to let the ethical question drop, for the moment I needed to focus on the battle going on below me. I allowed myself to float back down to the ground, the White Knights were launching a renewed offensive, I wade into the fray to support them.

The day passes largely uneventfully, same old story, more people died, the gods seemed to not care at all about the death occurring around them.

Day 6 of battle, 12:57 pm

I swing my sword and rip through the armour of an approaching warrior, then twisting my arm against the inertia of the swing, swung my blade into the back of a mage trying to heal his comrades. I rip my sword free of his limp body, and continue taking down Zamorakians, _The eye exists to eradicate evil_, Saradomin's words echo around in my head. I block a strike from an axe wielder, then snap the shaft of his massive executioner style axe, I follow up with a series of quick jabs into his chest with my sword.

The day had been long, the gods were no closer to a resolution, they seemed to be in a bigger stalemate than before. They were both unleashing massive beams of energy from their hands in an attempt to overpower each other. I cut down a group of mages with a single slash then come face to face with my old friend Doom the hound. He looks as depressed as me, which is startling, he seemed to be happy about the battle a week ago, his swords are dripping with blood, his right arm is activate. He raises his swords against me, and assumes a stance posed to strike, his eyes were determined.

"We don't have to do this Doom." I say activate my eye.  
"Saradomin has spoken to you, right?" He asks, not moving from his stance.  
"He asked me which I wanted more, good or evil." I answer raising my own weapons.  
"What do you want Oryx?"  
"At this point I just want the battle to end without any more casualties." I reply.  
"Then we're in consensus." Dooma says lowering his weapons.  
"I thought that you had learned to enjoy battle over the centuries." I say walking toward Doom.  
"Balance is hard to maintain, I've realized that this battle is only going to end one way, with a victor, and a loser."  
"But who should we allow to win?" I ask.  
"Good should triumphant this time, but only this time, because right now balance is impossible." Doom answers sheathing his swords.  
"Then good shall win." I say sheathing my own weapons.

Later that day, while eating the crap they were issuing to the troops, Aethenous approached me and sat next to me.

"Why are you sitting next to me?" I ask, sounding unintentionally irritated.  
"Can't an old warrior enjoy his field rations next to one older than he?"  
"I suppose, oh I have something I've been meaning to talk to you about, I think that our clan should support Saradomin exclusively."  
"Your opinion is reflected among the troops, those deployed in support of Zamorak are defecting against their orders." Aethenous says eating a spoon full of the 'food' in his bowl.  
"Then why not just support Saradomin?"  
"I honestly can't think of a reason not to." Aethenous replies, "This battle has no balance, better to see a god rule who won't execute those who do not follow him, than one that will."  
"I'm glad you see it that way."  
"However, there are those of us who support Zamorak, and they should be allowed to fight for their god."  
"Order them to support Saradomin!" I say in a harsh tone of voice.  
"Is that what you would have done?" Aethenous asks drinking water from his canteen.  
"Yes, actually it is what I would've done, and it's what you should do."  
"There is no should, only opinion." Aethenous says staring at me with a single ancient eye.  
"WHY ARE YOU STARING AT ME?!" I yell standing quickly knocking my food to the ground.

Aethenous continues to stare at me with a sorrowful look, he stands himself, then puts a hand on my shoulder.

"You've been through so much in the last 700 years, the sorrow dwells only just below the surface." Aethenous says after a long moment.  
"And how do you figure that?" I ask, my anger simmering.  
"Because you're crying." Aethenous answers, leaning over to pick up my wasted food dish.

I put my finger up to my eye, as it turned out, I was crying, I stared at my figure for a long moment, rubbing my fingers together to feel the dampness of the tears. I had thought the tears had ended, but then I felt more drip onto my hands, I wiped away my tears, and turned away from the battle. The tears came for a good hour, the heartache, and empty feeling however, would remain for the rest of the battle.

Day 7 of battle, 6:34 am

I used the power of my eye to destroy an advancing line of Zamorakians, then launched myself through one of their advancing titans. The Zamorakians had launched projectiles at our camp 2 hours earlier, when most of us were asleep, then they had attack with a massive wave of soldiers. I stood on the shoulder of the immobile golem, launching blasts of energy from my eye to halt the Zamorakians advance. I notice a squad form the Loyal Elite among the advancing enemies, I decide not to completely destroy them, but I knock them unconscious with a restrained blast of energy. I notice Aethenous, as usual he's demonstrating his skill with a hammer, striking down heavily armoured tanks, and axe wielders.

"It's getting pretty bloody down there, don't you think Ory." A voice from behind me says.  
"Yes, yes it is." I reply turning to see the ghostly shade of an old friend, "I thought you died centuries, Tra."  
"Mages aren't allowed to completely vanish form existence, our magical energy would pollute the balance." Tra replies, gesturing with his hands.  
"As if things are balanced right now."  
"I suppose you're right, but the question remains, if you want to maintain the balance, then why are you fighting in this war?"  
"Because I'm obligated to by my eye." I say covering my right eye with my right hand.  
"But why?"  
"BECAUSE I AM!" I yell standing in anger.  
"Oryx, in the 700 years since we last spoke, you've become lost." Tra says as he fades to nothing.  
"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING!?" I yell to the sky, tears streaming down my face again.

I unleash waves of power from the eye of Saradomin, destroying wave after endless wave of black armoured, and demon spawn Zamorakians.

Day 8 of battle, 9:47 pm

On the eight day of battle, the fight was mostly being carried out by massive titans, and horribly mutated beasts of war. The soldiers left in the fight were helpless as they were caught in the middle of the titans battle, helpless as they lost their lives. Lumrbidge took several hard hits on that eighth day, massive pieces of rock, and other projectiles were deflected into the town.

I did everything I could to destroy the chunks as they flew off the titans, but I was helpless to prevent one too many from hitting the town. Aethenous seemed to take the battle as it was, with every passing day the bags under his eyes grew larger. Despite the Loyal Elite being divided along the lines of the war, they never stopped helping each other, even if they would have to fight each other later. I watched my new clan support itself even as it was in a virtual civil war, I witnessed something new in my 757 years, compassion. I sat on top of a hastily built archer's tower, pondering my life, when Aethenous climbed up to join me.

"How does your clan hold itself together so well?" I ask him as he sits next to me.  
"Because we follow a very basic human truth, compassion." He answers.  
"I have lived for 757 years now, and I've never seen anything like your clan, it's absolutely incredible."  
"For someone who seems to be in conflict with us at every step of the way, that's a very high compliment." He replies.  
"I haven't been a member of a clan in 500 years, not since the last of the Reapers died out." I say, remembering my old clan.  
"You leave me with one question, Ory, why did you join us in the first place?"  
"You seemed like an interesting individual, I wanted to observe you, I never thought I get to witness such incredible acts of compatriotism." I say, raising my hand to the battlefield below.  
"Many of those people would die for our clan, each of them was lost in some way when they joined, they all found a place where they belonged." Aethenous replies.  
"Perhaps I am lost, lost in the 500 years I've been alone." I respond, gazing up to the sky.  
"I would be interested to hear a recounting of your life, but not now, and certainly not soon, not until this battle is long over, and Lumbridge is rebuilt."  
"That's a deal." I say raising my fist to Aethenous.  
"Good" Aethenous says, bumping fists with me.

Day 12 of battle, 10:38 pm

On the twelve day of battle, Saradomin began pushing Zamorak back, and it became evident that Zamorak's forces were disorganized. I stood at the tip of a spear formation being used to break Zamorak's final defences, it wasn't even a challenge anymore. Aethenous lead at the tip of another formation, intended to prevent a flanking manoeuvre, the fight did not last long.

As we approached the Zamorakian camp, a massive discharge of energy came barrelling out of the Saradominist camp. The energy struck Zamorak, as he fell the defensive perimeter his forces had established crumbled, I yelled 'charge' and the formation broke into absolute chaos. Saradominist forces quickly took over the Zamorakian camp, those that weren't killed were captured, then I watched as Saradomin walked to Zamorak and prepared to deal a final blow.

"LET HIM LIVE!" I yelled as I used my eye to fly to Saradomin's level.  
"He has done too much evil to be allowed to live!" Saradomin yelled in response, as he prepared the energy blast.

As he began unleashing it, I used my own power to knock his aim off, the blast created a crater next to Zamorak. Angry Saradomin struck me, sending me flying for miles, I landed in Varrock, leaving a crater, I quickly teleported back to Lumbridge to find the battle over. The Zamorakians were being restrained, and Saradomin stood over the Zamorakian's camp, Zamorak was nowhere to be seen, I assumed he had been destroyed. Smoke rose from every building in Lumbridge, people stumbled about covered in blood, the battle was over, but the war had only just begun. Aethenous walked up next to me, panting, as though the final battle had been a challenge,

"The battle is over comrade."  
"What happened to Zamorak?" I ask.  
"He managed to teleport away after you stopped Saradomin from killing him, Saradomin is furious by the way."  
"It does not matter, balance has been maintained, that's all that matters." I say walking toward the ruins of Lumbridge.  
"I have another question for you."  
"Shoot." I say, stopping.  
"Are you going to stay with the Loyal Elite?"  
"Perhaps, it's too early to say." I reply, continue my walk towards the ruins of Lumbridge, "Perhaps…"


End file.
